AMYD Crowning Dual Champions

Despite the absence of foreign teams, the Macao International Dragon Boat Races 2020 hosted equally eye-catching races with local teams this year. The Association of Macao Youth Development team, mainly consisting of members of the Macao dragon boat team, drew the most attention, as they were crowned dual champions at both the small boat race women category 200-metre and the standard boat race women category 500-metre. “We are satisfied with the result. We not only gave full play to what we have got, but also finished the races faster than we expected. We did not do well in the heat, because our athletes were yet to switch onto their contest mode after a prolonged hiatus. However, we put ourselves together soon enough and found the right rhythm in the final. This is the second consecutive year we have taken the crown at the small boat race,” said Ng Chi Ian, captain of the team and the best steersman of this year's event.

The victory at the small boat race was followed by another win at the standard boat race 500-metre. “We didn't have sufficient time to train due to the epidemic, but we are glad that the races were held as scheduled. The dual championship means a lot to us and it tells us that we should never blame the adverse circumstances. As long as we train hard enough, there's always a way to get over all those obstacles,” said Chan Ka Hei, one of the assistants of the team in a post-contest interview.

Several world-class contests including the 2020 Asian Dragon Boat Championship were delayed due to the Covid-19 epidemic and it remains unknown whether these contests will come back in the latter half of this year. “This contest served to evaluate our training. We are supposed to compete at the 2020 Asian Dragon Boat Championship and the 2020 Asian Beach Games at the end of this year, but whether that will happen or not is still up in the air. However, no matter what, we will keep training and get prepared for everything,” said Ng Chi Ian, member of the Macao team.